In Chalten, there are two mandatory hikes for most trekkers: Sendero al Fitz Roy and Senda a Laguna Torre. The former leads hikers for a close encounter of Laguna and Glacier de los Tres with Cerro Fitz Roy in the background, and the latter for Laguna and Glacier Torre with Cerro Torre in the background.
The weather seemed fine in the morning in El Chalten. Cerro Fitz Roy was mostly visible behind thin clouds. The host of our guesthouse told us that the weather would turn bad tomorrow, and they suggested us to try doing the Senda a Laguna Torre, despite the fact that the chance of seeing Cerro Torre was slim. We thought it would be nice to take the less demanding Laguna Torre hike (7 hours return) on our first day of trekking in El Chalten.
It took us about an hour from the trailhead at El Chalten to reach Mirador Torre, a lookout with a panoramic view of Cerro Torre and the adjacent glacier and mountain range. Despite blue sky above us at Mirador Torre, we saw that the distant Cerro Torre was covered in clouds. Although from a distance, we could feel the strong cold wind coming from the direction of Cerro Torre. We continued walking against strong wind until we reached Laguna Torre an hour and a half later. The sky was heavy with drizzling and strong wind, but the scenery of the lagoon, floating icebergs, glaciers and snow-capped mountains was breathtaking. At the last 15 minutes of hike, the path was rugged with sand and rocks until we reached the ridge of a stony hill right before Laguna Torre. We walked down to the beach and sat down on a boulder. Under the strong wind, the clouds were moving quickly. We set up the tripod and did a timelapse to capture the moving clouds and their shadows on the glacier and turquoise lagoon.
After the beach, we continued our hike to Mirador Maestri. The 40-minute hike up to Mirador Maestri at the northeast shore of Laguna Torre was mainly walking on the ridge of a rocky hill. The constant gusty wind was always a threat, but we managed to reach the mirador that offered us a spectacular close view of Glacier Torre and the half-hidden Cerro Torre. We stayed at the mirador for about an hour to take a timelapse, while hoping for a moment of clear sky and a glimpse of Cerro Torre. Unfortunately clouds and fog kept on moving in our direction from behind Cerro Torre, bringing occasional rain upon us. It was getting late and we had no choice but to turn back. By the time we were halfway back to El Chalten, the sky was clear again. Though whenever we looked back towards Cerro Torre we could only see a thick layer of cloud. We reached El Chalten at almost 9pm, but the light was still pretty good. Overall we enjoyed this hike very much with its glacier, lagoon and mountains. Let’s hope for better weather in the coming three days!* * *
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